Stuttgart smash ten-man Augsburg to climb into top half
In terms of relevance, both teams had little to play for in the last two matchdays of the season. This weekend’s results confirmed that Stuttgart couldn’t qualify for Europe based on their league standings. Against their usual Bundesliga history, Augsburg also avoided relegation a while ago.
Sebastian Hoeneß saw his side beat St. Pauli with Nick Woltemade’s late winner last weekend, and he named an unchanged XI. Similarly, Jess Thorup’s only change dealt with Marius Wolf’s illness as Robert Gumny comes in his place.
The hosts started the game confidently, and they took the lead inside the first ten minutes. Atakan Karazor scored after Pascal Stenzel’s corner-kick caused havoc in Augsburg’s box.
A few minutes later, Augsburg’s task gets even more difficult as Samuel Essende sees a straight red card after a VAR consultation. Angelo Stiller, who was on the receiving end of the striker’s clumsy challenge, couldn’t continue the game.
Having finished last weekend’s game in St. Pauli 11 v 9, Stuttgart had another chance to have a numerical advantage for nearly 80 minutes. However, Yannik Keitel also had to be substituted due to injury, while Hoeneß replaced Finn Jeltsch for what seems to be a tactical decision.
Nonetheless, Finn Dahmen had a strong half to limit Stuttgart to a single goal from 10 attempts (5 on target). Augsburg tried to hit the hosts in counters, but they didn’t register a shot on target in the first half.
Stuttgart all but secured the three points right after the break as Woltemade netted his 11th goal of the season following a quick exchange with Enzo Millot. The Frenchman added a goal to his assist after another goalmouth scramble.
Former Augsburg striker Ermedin Demirović compounded the Bavarians' misery with a close-range finish. VfB even had more chances to extend their lead throughout the game. On the other hand, Augsburg ended the match with no shots on target.
The Swabians will end the league campaign in Leipzig next weekend. However, they still have another chance at glory and European qualification when they face Arminia Bielefeld in Berlin for the Pokal final. Bielefeld won promotion to the 2. Bundesliga this weekend. Augsburg will end their successful campaign at home against Union Berlin.
